CLEMSON — Clemson University’s Board of Trustees’ Compensation Committee officially approved the hiring of Chad Morris Monday morning as the Tigers’ new offensive coordinator.

The Compensation Committee approved a three-year deal that will pay Morris $1.2 million per year with standard bonus conditions included in the terms of the contract.

Morris returns to Clemson for the third time to help turnaround the Tigers’ offense. He spent four seasons at Clemson from 2011-’14 as the Tigers’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and then one season in 2023 as an offensive analyst.

He will try to revitalize a Clemson offense that finished seventh in the ACC in total offense in 2025, averaging 392.2 yards per game and No. 10 in scoring offense at 27.2 points per game. Clemson also finished sixth in passing yards (267.8) and 11 in rushing (124.5).

Swinney fired former offensive coordinator Garrett Riley last Monday after the Tigers concluded a 7-6 season with a 10-point, 236-yard performance in the Pinstripe Bowl against Penn State.

“There are always tough decisions that have to be made in this profession, and though I had to make a couple of tough decisions, it was an easy decision to hire Chad Morris,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said in a Clemson press release. “I’m really excited for our players. It’s pretty cool to have guys like DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins and a bunch of great players shooting me text messages with their excitement knowing what’s to come offensively. I think we’ve got elite offensive personnel, and the name of the game is points. The one thing I know about Chad, he knows how to score points, and so I’m excited to welcome him and his family back.”

Morris has not called plays since serving as Auburn’s offensive coordinator during the 2020 season. In the last five seasons, he served as an analyst on Jeff Scott’s South Florida staff in 2022, was an offensive analyst on Swinney’s 2023 staff, and as the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator at Texas State in 2024.

He took off this past season so he could watch his son Chandler Morris quarterback the Virginia Cavaliers, who he led to an 11-win season, the program’s first.

“I also want to extend my deepest thanks to Tony Elliott, Des Kitchings and the staff at Virginia for allowing me to be around their program during their historic 2025 season,” Chad Morris said. “All last year, I was able to travel and watch and visit and learn from so many different coaches at Virginia and beyond, and I’m excited to bring all that wisdom and knowledge back to Clemson.”

According to the terms of his contract, Morris can make up to $720,000 in bonuses, should Clemson win the College Football Playoff. If Clemson makes it to the ACC Championship Game, he will receive a bonus of $120,000 or, if the Tigers win the ACC, he will receive a $240,000 bonus.

With 8 or more wins, plus a bowl appearance, Morris can make an additional $60,000 or $120,000 if Clemson wins 8 or more games which includes a bowl victory. He could receive $180,000 bonus if Clemson makes it to a CFP first-round game or $240,000 if the Tigers make a second-round appearance.

If Clemson makes it to the CFP Semifinals, Morris will instead earn a $300,000 bonus or a $360,000 if the Tigers win a semifinal game. If the Tigers win a national championship, Morris will receive $480,000.

During his four seasons as Clemson’s offensive coordinator, Chad Morris helped the Tigers set 127 offensive records (89 individual marks and 38 team records), while winning the 2011 ACC Championship and guiding them to a 41-11 record. He helped Clemson beat top 10 foes LSU (Chick-fil-A) and Ohio State (Orange) in bowl games, while the Tigers were 27-6 against ACC opponents.

The Tigers experienced some of their best offensive success with Morris running the offense. Clemson made an appearance in two BCS Bowls (2 Orange Bowls) and finished ranked inside the AP Top 10 twice.

Under Morris, quarterback Tajh Boyd broke the ACC’s career record for touchdown responsibility with a combined 133 touchdowns thrown and/or scored, a mark that still stands today. The passing attack propelled wide receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins to a school-record 27 career touchdown receptions each, and Watkins’ school-record 3,391 career receiving yards still rank fifth in conference annals.

“My previous time in this role at Clemson was truly one of the most joyful times of my career,” Morris said. “It excites me to have an opportunity to come back and to do it under very similar circumstances from where we were in 2011 and where we are in 2026. I can’t thank Coach Swinney, Graham Neff and the Board of Trustees enough for this opportunity.”

Morris’ offense and his recruitment of Deshaun Watson set the stage for the Tigers’ national championship runs from 2015-’20.

In his 52 games as offensive coordinator from 2011-’14, Clemson averaged 36 points and 468 yards per game. He guided the top three scoring offenses and four of the top five passing offenses in Clemson history during his time in Tigertown.

“I’m super excited to welcome back Chad Morris, who is one of the best guys I’ve ever worked with,” Swinney said. “It’s unique that the timing worked out this way. Before this year, the last time we lost six or more games in a season was in 2010, and I went and hired Chad Morris, and the reason I hired him was the fit and the alignment we had on how I think and what I wanted to do.

“From 2011-14, there were very few games that we didn’t score 30-plus points, and there were a bunch of games we scored 40 or 50, so we had some very explosive offenses. With the skill sets of our quarterbacks, I felt like he was the right fit for where we are right now and what I want to do.”

Morris compiled a 167-40 record and three state championships as a decorated high school coach in Texas from 1994-2009 before spending one season as the offensive coordinator at Tulsa in 2010 prior to his initial hire at Clemson. He departed Clemson to spend five seasons as an FBS head coach, first at SMU from 2015-17 and then at Arkansas across the 2018-19 seasons.

Morris spent one season as offensive coordinator at Auburn in 2020 before returning to the Texas high school ranks to lead Allen High School to an 11-3 record in 2021.